The MBBCo’s Brew Team brings you another first from the brewery, McLaughlin’s Scotch Ale. Scotch Ale is the strongest style of beer traditionally brewed in Scotland. McLaughlin’s starts with four malts in meaningful proportions and the wort is scorched in our kettle to provide some of the beer’s burnt toffee and caramel-like flavors. The ale's deep and smooth character with hints of dark fruits, burnt sugars, and a slight touch of alcohol makes it a perfect winter warmer. Enjoy in a snifter and let it warm in your glass to savor its full complexity.

Beer: Reviews & Ratings

This Scotch ale plays the part; it's a dark, brooding beer, a bit of light peeking through the edges of a very dark brown beer. It forms a tan head that shows some force, sticking around at about a finger tall and leaving creamy patches of lacing on the walls of my snifter as it drops.
The wort is scorched in the kettle, but neither in the smell or the taste is their any burn, char or astringency aside from the gentlest touch of a char note in the peat and slight wood note. Instead, I get a fantastic aroma and flavor of burnt toffee, enough peat to satisfy a Scotch lover without going overboard, caramel, dark fruits, and smoky/toasty sugars along with a light roasty note. Lest one think it seems too sweet from the description, it's actually very nicely balanced with just a hint of bitterness to balance it, along with just enough dryness that it's by no means a dry beer, but it's not cloying. The alcohol integrates very well, giving warmth in the throat and chest without the burn, just a pleasant kick.
There's enough body to support the alcohol and the intensity, and this one's a sipper but not heavy. It's got a consistently crisp bite with a good smoothness.
Fantastic stuff, brewed from the assistant brewer's recipe and named after him. This would probably tie the original Brewed Witch and, since it went more American and lost a little of its balance and depth, surpasses the newer version in MBBC's top 3. (1,431 characters)